Philippines: Farmers Plant Trees to Preserve the Environment, Help Sustain Tobacco Farming Families

Source from:  Aug 6, 2012  08/07/2012

Wood is an important resource for the tobacco industry, used by farmers to fuel curing barns prior to selling tobacco leaves to factories. Statistics from the Department of Agriculture (DA) show there are thousands of tobacco farmers in the country and the majority of them use the traditional "pugon" (oven) made of a wall of mud for curing the leaves. As of June 3, 2011, there were more than 50,000 farmer-cooperators in the tobacco industry. "Pugon" is a structure made of mud traditionally used by farmers in drying tobacco leaves to achieve its golden color and attaining a quality that factories require before buying the leaves to be processed. In the process of preservation, tobacco leaves are placed on a bamboo stick called "panag-gagatud" by Ilocanos. The tobacco leaves are hung inside the barn. Below them, wood is burned in a controlled temperature so that there is only smoke, which actually cures the leaves and prevents them from accumulating molds. While technologies for the purpose of curing the tobacco leaves have been invented, many farmers, especially at the tobacco producing towns continue to use the traditional "pugon." Some farmers also use air drying in curing the tobacco leaves, which barn construction uses bamboos and wood, which system, however is not year round considering the rain and the moist temperature outside the summer months. Ester Liberator, Special Projects Manager of the Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation, which implements the farmers’ cooperative organizing and capability building of tobacco farmers in Northern Luzon and in Occidental Mindoro, where there are farmers that produce tobacco said that for every hectare of tobacco, it is estimated that a farmer needs 32 to 35 cubic meters or about 5 to 7 three-year old ipil-ipil trees to cure the tobacco leaves. With this requirement, many farmers have no option but to harvest from whatever is available nearby for their wood requirement or bought from merchants who deliver firewood. Some also use bamboos in place of firewood which however can only be used after the desired temperature in the barn has been achieved. Recognizing that fuel sources are equally important to the core business of tobacco farming and seeing their role of helping protect and preserve the environment, tobacco farmers embarked on a reforestation program with the help of JVOFI and the PMFTC. Liberato said that the program is a concrete manifestation to help regenerate forests that may have suffered from indiscriminate cutting, prevent the continued destruction of the forest and contribute to environmental protection which at the same time can also provide tobacco farmers a sustainable source of fuel wood and a source of additional livelihood and income.. The project on farmers’ cooperative organizing and capability building of tobacco farmers started with the training of the farmers on bamboo and timber seedling propagation. Nurseries were established by the farmer cooperatives where they propagate bamboo and timber seedlings that PMFTC buys from them for planting in identified reforestation areas. Companies, organizations and persons wanting to do tree planting activities can also purchase bamboo and timber seedlings from the cooperatives, which goes as income of the tobacco farmer cooperatives. Liberato said the project aims to support the organizing and capacity building of people’s organizations to manage fuel-wood plantations. “It caters to farmers whose major crops are rice and tobacco. The plantations shall eventually serve the fuel-wood requirement of farmers for the curing of tobacco.” She added that because farmers will be taught sustainable harvesting and management of the fuel wood plantations, the project’s goal is to help improve degraded forests. Ensuring their sustainability se can yield multiple long-term benefits to the farmers and residents in terms of increased availability of water, reduction of soil erosion and better air quality. The project, which is a three-prong approach to sustainable development addressed the three pillars of the society which includes socio-economic and environmental components. On the social aspect, the program delves on the organization and capacity building of tobacco farmers cooperatives which entails the establishment of roles and responsibilities of the organizations and the members that involves formulation and institutionalization of policies, systems and procedures to ensure sustainable reforestation and an equitable distribution of responsibilities and benefits. The fuel-wood plantations simultaneously addressed the two pillars which includes the economic and environmental aspect. At present, there are 16 established peoples’ organizations operating in the municipalities of Sudipen, Santol and Bangar La Union, San Mariano and Delfin Albano in Isabela, Sto. Nino and Gattaran in Cagayan, Sta. Cruz, Lidlida, Banayoyo, San Juan and San Emilio in Ilocos Sur and the municipality of San Jose in Occidental Mindoro. Some of these organizations existed as early as 2001 and was increased in 2008 with the entry of PMFTC and JVOFI. With the good accomplishments that the organizations are showing, expansion areas are also up for creation. Liberato said that with the 16 existing organizations whose primary activity is rice and tobacco farming, there have been 116 hectares of land identified as areas planted and continuously being planted and reforested. These were planted with 226,699 seedlings of timber while about 3,157 bamboo seedlings also planted. Liberato said the creation of the organizations is not only focused on teaching them how to propagate seedlings, it also involve training the members on savings generation and bookkeeping. "An organization has better chances to sustain itself and achieve its goals when it has resources to manage a project. The trainings provide the association with schemes on generating savings and income for their groups as well as its members and assists the organizations in planning for business that they would like to put up. They are also taught how to make simple financial statements," that would allow them to inform their members of their financial condition and how they are doing as an organization. It also includes informing the members about the activities being undertaken particularly on their reforestation activities." Enditem